FA could lose millions of pounds of public funding in wake of Telegraph investigation

The Football Association could lose millions of pounds of public funding in the wake of The Daily Telegraph’s investigation into corruption and greed at the heart of the English game.

Greg Clarke, chairman of the FA, has been summoned to give evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport select committee following damaging revelations published by this newspaper.

The Commons select committee warned that it is “very unlikely” that the FA would be found to comply with the Government’s “gold standard charter” for the governance of sporting bodies, meaning it could be stripped of up to £40 million worth of public funding.

Although progress has been promised by the FA, in practice very little has changedThe Commons select committee

The Commons select committee issued a statement about the failure of the FA to tackle “major failings” in its governance of the sport.

"The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has repeatedly urged the football authorities to improve self-governance,” it said.

"Although the committee's recommendations have been backed by successive sports ministers and progress has been promised by the FA, in practice very little has changed: the governance of football is cumbersome, and power lies with the clubs, especially in the Premier League.

"Real reform in relation to the ownership of clubs, transfers of players, the influence of fans, the role of agents and investment in the grassroots - amongst other issues - has stalled."

Watch | How The Telegraph investigation led to Sam Allardyce's downfall

“I'm not shy to say to the FA 'if you don't reform your governance structures, I will give that money to other bodies that deliver football',” Ms Crouch said in July.

She went on: “We've made it clear that all sports governing bodies have to reform their governance codes. The FA is not excluded from that, and if they don't, they won't get public funding. It's as simple as that."

A Government report titled “Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation”, published in December 2015 explained that governing sporting bodies should aspire to reach a “gold standard” of governance.

“This new UK Sports Governance Code will be mandatory for all sports bodies seeking public funding in the next funding period. Organisations that do not meet the code will not be eligible for public funding,” the report said.

The FA's director of governance and regulation, Darren Bailey, will also be giving evidence before the Select Committee later this month. In the last Parliament, the Committee recommended legislation to enforce good governance if no further progress had been made.